Bottle closure



June 4, 1935. R. wl-:lsBAcH 2,003,873

BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Feb. 28, 1954 T ZML- 2 f2 6 ff F20. i n l- :I Y hl ffii 4i@ Mig 2:15 a 143// f5 L,- Z i 7/ fj d 7g Patented June 4, 1935 Rudolph Weisbach,

PATENT OFFICE CLOSURE Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 28, 1934, Serial No. 713,362

2 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle closures and has for its object to provide a comparatively simple andY inexpensive device of thisv character adapted to be positioned in the neck of a bottle and which will eiectually prevent an unauthorized; person from fraudulentlyA relling the bottle after the original contents thereof has been dispensed.

A further object of the invention is to provide 1'0 a valved closure, the valve seat of which may be either cast into the neck of the bottle so as to form an integral part thereof or made separate from the neck of the bottle and subsequently inserted therein.

A further object is to provide a bottle closure including a'hollowbody portion having lateralV discharge ports or openings and provided with a valve for controlling the flow of liquid through said openings, means being provided for sealing the upper end of said body portion after the valvel has been properly positioned therein.

A further object is to form the body of the` closure with an exterior circumscribing seat adapted to receive a packing sleeve of cork, rubber, or other yieldable material which frictionally engages the inner wall of the neck of. the bottle and serves to prevent leakage and assists in retaining the closure in place.

A still further object of the invention is gener- 30 ally to improve this class of devices soas to increase their utility, durability and eii'iciency.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the gures of the drawing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a closure constructed in accordance with the present invention and showing the same in position within the neck of a bottle.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View of. the closure detached.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a similar View taken on the line 4-4' of Figure l.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a modied form of the invention.

Figure 6 is a similar View illustrating a further modication.

Figure '7 isa transversey sectional view of the valve.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional View of a further modication in which the valve seat is formed integral with the inner wall of the neck of the bottle.

(or 215-21i The improved valvedclosure, forming the sub-- ject-matter of the present invention, may be used onbottles, vials, jugs and other liquid containers andby way of illustration isshown in connectionY with. a bottle of conventional construction in which 5 designates the body of the bottle and Ii` the neck. The device comprises a tubular body portion 'I preferably cylindrical in form and constructed of glass, porcelain, or other suitable material, said body portion having its upper end normally open at 8 with the walls of said opening inclined or tapered downwardly, as indicated at 9., The upper portion of the body is spaced slightly from the neck of' the bottle to form an annular passage and is provided with a circumferential row of lateral discharge openings or, ports lDr which communicate with the bore Il and said annular passage and through which the contents of. the bottle is discharged. Immediately below the discharge openings I0 the bore IIV ofthe body is tapered downwardly to form a. valve seat I2 on which is seated a correspondingly tapered valve I 3. The'head of the valve I3 is provided with an upstanding boss I4 and depending guide wings I5 which bear against the adjacent wall ofthe bore II and serve to guide the valve in its opening and closing movements.

The opening 3 the top of the body portion` is closed by a cap or disk I6, also preferably formed of glass or porcelain, and the peripheral edge of said cap or disk is preferably tapered` downwardly to conform to the taper of the opening in the wall 8 so as to iorrn a tight joint be-KA tween the parts. The body portion 'I may be cast into the neck of the bottle so as to forman integral part thereof but it is preferred to make the closure separate and with this object in View, the body portion 'l is formed with an exterior circurnscrioing seat Il adapted to receive a yieldable packing sleeve I3 formed of cork, rubber or other suitable material so that when the closure is positioned within the neck of a bottle, the sleeve will be compressed and frictionally engage the inner Wall of the neck of said bottle.

In order to limit the downward movement of the cap IS, the body portion is formed with an annular stop shoulder IS preferably disposed immediately above the discharge openings I0 so that whenl the cap is positioned within the opening 8, said cap will rest on the shoulder I9 and: prevent theflow of liquid through the top of theV body portion. y Y

In assembling the component parts comprising the closure, the valve I3 is rst introduced through the opening 8 into the bore II for engagement with the seat I2, after which the cap I6 is placed Within the opening with the bottom thereof resting on the stop shoulder I9 and in which position it is cemented within the opening or otherwise rigidly secured to the body portion. The closure is then introduced within the neck of the bottle in spaced relation to the mouth thereof so as to permit the insertion of the usual cork or stopper indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawing, vThe closure may be permanently secured within the neck of the bottle by coating the sleeve or adjacent portion of the body 'I lwith a suitable cement, and it will here be noted that when the sleeve is compressed that portion of the body 'I immediately above the sleeve will have a seal-tight contact with the neck so as eifectually to prevent ther escape of liquid. In order to discharge the contents of the bottle, the cork or stopper is removed kand it is merely necessary to invert or partially invert the bottle when the valve will be dislodged from its seat thereby permitting the contents of the bottle to ilow outwardly through the discharge openings lil and thencethrough the mouth of the neck in the usual manner. When the bottle is inverted, the boss I4 will strike against the lower face of the cap I6 so as to prevent the head I3 or" the valve from closing the discharge openings. When the bottle is again placed in upright position, the valve will drop by gravity into engagement with its seat and inasmuch as the top of the closure is sealed by the cap IG and the space between the closure and inner wall of the bottle neck relatively small, a person cannot insert a wire or other tool within the closure in an attempt to open the valve and surreptitiously reiill the bottle after the original contents thereof has been dispensed. It will be noted that the seat II forms a shoulder 2D against which the upper edge of the packing sleeve I8 bears so as to prevent displacement of said sleeve whenintroducing the stopper within the neck of a bottle.

In Figure 5 of the drawing, there is illustrated a modified form of the invention in which the body portion is formed of upper and lower sections 2I and 22, the top of the upper section being permanently closed, as indicated at 23, and provided with lateral discharge openings 24 while the lower section 22 is provided with an annular shoulder 25 providing an upstanding cylindrical extension 26, the upper end of which is beveled at 2l to form a seat for a valve 28, similar in construction to the valve I3. 'Ihe lower portion of the upper section 2l is provided with a reduced depending extension 21 adapted to rest on the shoulder 25v and spanning the junction of the shoulder 25 and extension 2 is a yieldable packing sleeve 29, one end of which bears against a shoulder 3i) formed on the upper section 2| and the other end against a similar shoulder 3! formed on the lower section 22.

In Figure 6 of the drawing, there is illustrated a further modification in which the body portion is also preferably formed of two sections 32 and 33 having their inner mating faces 34 spanned and overlapped by a yieldable packing sleeve 35. In this form of the device, the valve 36 extends approximately the entire length of the lower section 33 while the yieldable sleeve 35 is of less height than the sleeves shown in Figures 2 and 5 of the drawing.

A still further modiiication is shown in Figure 8 of the drawing in which the valve seat 36 projects within the neck of the bottle and is formed integral therewith, the packing sleeve being omitted and the cage 31 cemented or otherwise permanently secured within the neck of the bottle after the valve 38 has been positioned therein. In this form of the invention, the closure is also spaced from the mouth of the neck to permit the insertion o the usual cork or stopper but when the device is used on a vial, the valved closure will preferably be disposed substantially ush with the top of the vial and a suitable cap fitted over the mouth of said vial.

Inasmuch as the valve is normally seated, it follows that there can be no evaporation of the liquid within the bottle and as said valve is moved to open and closed positions by gravity, the bottle may be readily manipulated to discharge its contents or any portion thereof.

It will, of course, be understood that the closures may be made in different sizes and shapes and formed of any suitable material without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

l. A bottle closure comprising a tubular body open at its bottom and closed at its top, discharge openings being formed through walls of the body adjacent the closed top of the body, walls of the body being internally thickened below the discharge openings and at the upper end of the thickened portion being formed with an internal downwardly tapered conical portion constituting a valve seat, an inverted frusto conical valve in said body normally resting upon said valve seat and having a boss projecting upwardly at its center to engage the closed top of the body and limit vupward movement of the valve, said valve having depending guide wings disposed in intersecting relation to each other radially of the valve and slidably extending through the bore of the thickened portion to guide movement of the valve onto and off said seat and permit flow ofv liquid through the body about the valve to the discharge openings when the valve is off the valve seat.

2. A bottle closure comprising a tubular body having upper and lower sections, the lower section having an upwardly extending neck projecting into the upper section in spaced relation to walls thereof and formed with a valve seat at its upper end, the upper section having a head closing its upper end and having its side walls formed with discharge openings located between the head and the upper end of the neck of the lower section, side walls of the upper and lower sections being reduced in thickness from their outer faces to form a-circurnferential longitudinally extending seat spaced from the discharge openings and the lower end of the lower section and having shoulders at its upper and lower ends, a packing sleeve iitting about said body in the seat in bridging relation to the upper and lower sections with its ends abutting said shoulders, and a valve normally resting upon said valve seat and having a depending guide member slidable through said neck to guide movement oi the valve onto and oi of the valve seat.

RUDOLPH WEISBACH. [L. 5.] 

